For years, I've wanted to sit at his table and talk to Nick Allott. I imagine we would talk about the musicals he's produced- Les Miserables, Cats, Carousel, Hamilton - what he's doing now, his political battle to save theatres during the pandemic, and the great love for his best friend, the late, writer and restaurant critic Adrian Gill.
Today, Nick is not a guest in The River Cafe, but a guest on Ruthie's Table 4, and we are here to talk. Theater and food. Food and friendship. At Last.
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Ruthie's Table 4: Nick Allott

For more than 30 years The River Cafe in London, has been the home-from-home of artists, architects, designers, actors, collectors, writers, activists, and politicians. Michael Caine, Glenn Close, JJ Abrams, Steve McQueen, Victoria and David Beckham, and Lily Allen, are just some of the people who love to call The River Cafe home. 

On River Cafe Table 4, Rogers sits down with her customers—who have become friends—to talk about food memories. Table 4 explores how food impacts every aspect of our lives. “Foods is politics, food is cultural, food is how you express love, food is about your heritage, it defines who you and who you want to be,” says Rogers.

Each week, Rogers invites her guest to reminisce about family suppers and first dates, what they cook, how they eat when performing, the restaurants they choose, and what food they seek when they need comfort. And to punctuate each episode of Table 4, guests such as Ralph Fiennes, Emily Blunt, and Alfonso Cuarón, read their favourite recipe from one of the best-selling River Cafe cookbooks. 

Table 4 itself, is situated near The River Cafe’s open kitchen, close to the bright pink wood-fired oven and next to the glossy yellow pass, where Ruthie oversees the restaurant. You are invited to take a seat at this intimate table and join the conversation.
 
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I may not know what makes a good comedian, but I do know what makes a good father. 
 
When Judd and I met in London — where his daughter Maude was playing the lead role of Sally Bowles in Cabaret — he told me this was the eighth time he'd seen it in three weeks.
 
While I don’t know what makes a good comedian, Judd certainly does. His advice to kickstart your writing: think of a topic and write down as many jokes and one liners as you can. Don't be scared if your first draft doesn't make you laugh out loud — keep going. 
 
There are definite parallels between cooking and comedy. And paraphrasing his words, an aspiring chef should never panic if the first attempt doesn't taste quite right. 
Eating and laughing; children and acting; movies and restaurants. We're here today in The River Cafe, and Judd and I will tackle them all.
Life is a cabaret.

Listen to Ruthie's Table 4: Judd Apatow out now - made in partnership with Moncler. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Judd Apatow

Sam Taylor-Johnson is a close friend and director of Back To Black, the story of Amy Winehouse. Checking in with her during filming, she always reassured me it was intense. It was challenging. It was exhilarating. But, the best part was working with Marisa Abela. 

One night a few months ago, Sam called me at home to tell me Marisa was in The River Cafe and could we send her a glass of champagne? When I told this to Michael, a friend visiting me from New York, he said, ‘Ruthie, we're not sending her a glass of champagne. We're going there right now to give it to her ourselves'.

This month, Back to Black opened in London. Today, we're here together in The River Cafe and when we’re done we'll have a glass of champagne.

Listen to Ruthie's Table 4: Marissa Abela made in partnership with Moncler. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Marisa Abela

Imagine going to a close friend's birthday, months after the death of your son. Imagine realising it was too soon and telling the man you're talking to who you hardly know, why you need to leave. He takes your arm and insists on seeing you to the lift. Then he goes down with you until you get to the street. This becomes a ten minute walk to the car park. A climb up the stairs, him holding your hand tightly until you find your car. Driving off, you see him in the rearview mirror waving goodbye. I was this woman, and Tom Hollander was this man. And his act of tenderness and compassion has stayed with me for 13 years. 

There are many stories about Tom Hollander. The best ones are told by him, not least his life in the day for the Sunday Times, the best in a great series ever written. He is a fantastic actor; White Lotus, Patriots, most recently captivating audiences as Truman Capote in Feud: Capote vs. The Swans. He sings beautiful songs to his six month old son. He's passionate about what he cooks and what he eats. Yesterday, he sent me a photograph with no caption of Fran Hickman with a large stainless steel saucepan obscuring her face, drinking the contents.

Imagine, being me in The River Cafe with Tom Hollander on a Tuesday afternoon, talking about memories of food, memories of friendship, family and all his doing. Then imagine how special this feels.

Listen to Ruthie's Table 4: Tom Hollander made in partnership with Moncler. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tom Hollander

“Across a garden from where Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and I are sitting, people are having Sunday lunch in The River Cafe. Walking into the room you hear the rise and fall of conversation and laughter, friends and families connecting over food.
At age 37 Vivek was appointed as the youngest Surgeon General of the United States by President Obama and is now serving a second term with President Biden.
During Covid in his gap between terms as Surgeon General, he might have researched illnesses – cancer, heart disease and diabetes but instead he chose what he saw as another epidemic of our time- loneliness.
He is a Surgeon General who sees love as a foundation for good public health. How rare to hear the word love as a solution to a diagnosis. He sees food as an antidote to loneliness, believing loneliness is like hunger and like thirst.
I am privileged today to talk with and listen to the Surgeon General and to hear how as a doctor, a father, a husband a child and now my friend. Food is connection and food is love.”

Listen to Ruthie’s Table 4  in partnership with Moncler – out now. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Vivek Murthy

The first time that Sarah Jessica Parker and I spoke, the tables were turned. She was on the phone in The River Cafe kitchen, and I was on a beach in Mexico. It was really hard to hear her with the noise of pots and pans, the crashing waves of the Pacific Ocean. But her dazzling warmth travelled the 6000 miles. If the phone connection was poor, the friendship connection was instant.

Last month, she was in The River Cafe with her family, and I was there with mine. They were sitting on table one, just a few feet from the pink wood oven close to the drama of the kitchen. And there she was, dazzling and warm. ‘How does all this work, Ruthie? How do you make sure that Matthew's ravioli comes out the same time as my asparagus bagna cauda.’ ‘This kitchen’, she said, ‘feels like the inside of a pinball machine with energy bouncing between the different stations. How do you all have the energy to do both lunch and dinner?’

Now, I suppose if I went backstage to Plaza Suite, the play that Sarah is doing here with her husband, Matthew Broderick, I would have similar questions. ‘How does this work, Sarah? What do you do if someone forgets their lines? And how do you all have the energy to do a matinee and an evening performance?’ Today we're here not miles apart, inches apart. Two friends together, surrounded by all of you great people. What a connection.

Listen to Ruthie’s Table 4: Sarah Jessica Parker in partnership with Moncler. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ruthie's Table 4: Nick Allott

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